The rapid spread of the coronavirus virus (COVID-19) has been responsible for massive global impacts on the lives of children, families and communities. It is important to document these effects for the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. This report focuses on the Asia-Pacific region and ECEC sector, given limited regional studies…

This book, the seventeenth instalment in the 24-volume series "Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research," explores the interrelationship between ideology, the state and human rights education reforms, setting it in a global context. The book examines major human rights education reforms and policy issues in a global…

There is a growing belief that young children should be involved in decisions that affect them. This belief has its foundations in a new model of the young child, in a new concern with young children's rights as citizens and in new knowledge about the significance of young children's early experiences. This article examines the increasing interest…

In early childhood settings prior to school and in the early years of primary school, debate continues over the meaning of inclusion and its scope in terms of the groups under consideration. The genealogies of early childhood education and care, early primary school, special education and cultural education were examined to identify recurring and…

This paper considers the educational provision for, and general treatment of, refugee and asylum seeker children in Australia, using a framework of governmentality. The paper describes the regimes of practices which govern refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, including mandatory detention and a complex set of visa categorisations, and…

Growing international interest in the early childhood years has been accompanied by an expansion of public programs in Australia targeting young children and their families. This article explores some of the influences and rhetoric that frame these initiatives. It encourages critical examination of the discourses that shape the nature of early…

This booklet discusses the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, focusing on the Convention's effects on the rights of children in Australia. It summarizes the main articles of the convention and explains the international legal structures by which the rights of children are protected. The booklet then examines human rights…

Ratification by Australia of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 acted as a potent stimulus for a series of debates and controversies concerning the place of children in Australian society. The debate has largely taken place in relatively specialized forums involving lawyers, members of the judiciary, social…

Uses examples of institutional child abuse within the Australian police force, social service departments, diplomatic service, schools, the judicial system, and the church to show that leadership may mitigate or amplify abuse. Contends that the precedence of adults' rights over children's rights contributes to child abuse. The recent creation of a…